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I thought SF’s northern suburbs were kinda like this.
I’ve never been to the northern burbs of SF but just by streetview and google maps they seem to be a lot more modern and less village like. More densely settled and more of just beautiful suburbs but a more normal suburban layout not as old times villagey.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 05-22-2022 at 08:41 PM..
I agree with this. I guess the similarity between Boston and SF is nerd culture, or at the least the perception of nerd culture, but that's really just a small slice of both metros. Even though the Bay Area is considered more "East Coast" like in its work culture, it's just overall a lot more chill than anywhere on the East Coast, and a lot more diverse than Boston too.
Not just nerd culture but a certain sort of municipal arrogance.
Though that's far more pronounced in San Francisco than in Boston.
On that score, Philadelphia is the opposite number of both.
I remember taking a RE cert course in Randolph a few years back. The woman teaching the courses was a successful broker in her own right and her niche was exactly what you described. Boston based clientele looking to move to Avon, Randolph, but mostly Brockton to upsize and get the family-sized SFH. Seemed to be a robust market for that.
On the other hand, idk if the poverty rates tells the whole story. The highest poverty neighborhoods in Boston are Fenway, Mission Hill, and Allston. All them are around 40% poverty rates. The students skew it a lot, and though Boston has always had a lot of students, but enrollment numbers likely outpace overall city growth since 1990.
Boston has 150,000 college students and an 18% poverty rate. Amherst has a 25% poverty rate. Students declaring residence in Boston indeed massively skews the poverty rate.
My freshman year college roommate in 1976 was from the South End. Back then, the South End was a rough place. In 1988, I had a girlfriend who bought a condo conversion there. It was unrecognizable from a decade before. I’ve been in Dorchester a few times recently. It’s happening there now. The small building condo conversion is relentless. 3,000 units have been converted in Boston in the last 5 years and the rate is accelerating.
New Bedford gained 10% population in the last decade. A substantial fraction of that is displaced low income Boston people. There’s no local control over public housing. The HUD rate for a 2 bedroom apartment in Dorchester is $2,400. Good luck with that. Your options if you need subsidized housing in Boston are Springfield, Fall River, New Bedford, or a cardboard box.
Boston has 150,000 college students and an 18% poverty rate. Amherst has a 25% poverty rate. Students declaring residence in Boston indeed massively skews the poverty rate.
My freshman year college roommate in 1976 was from the South End. Back then, the South End was a rough place. In 1988, I had a girlfriend who bought a condo conversion there. It was unrecognizable from a decade before. I’ve been in Dorchester a few times recently. It’s happening there now. The small building condo conversion is relentless. 3,000 units have been converted in Boston in the last 5 years and the rate is accelerating.
New Bedford gained 10% population in the last decade. A substantial fraction of that is displaced low income Boston people. There’s no local control over public housing. The HUD rate for a 2 bedroom apartment in Dorchester is $2,400. Good luck with that. Your options if you need subsidized housing in Boston are Springfield, Fall River, New Bedford, or a cardboard box.
Lowell is significantly college students, so is Framingham, Fitchburg, Worcester, Salem etc which I volunteer as failed mill cities.
Plus lists of BC, BU almost all Harvard students live outside Boston proper. Lots of Emerson/Suffolk etc students live up in Malden.
Lowell’s Family poverty rate is 15%, Haverhill, 7% Boston 16%. (And again a massive amount of the poverty in direct immigrants not people from Dorchester)?It’s not just college students. What you are saying is just not true.
Look at BPS compared to Lowell or Brockton Or Malden or Haverhill public schools the poverty rate in Boston is much higher. The crime rate in Boston is much higher, the schools are worse.
I’m also not exactly sure how much money you think those Salvadoran immigrants in East Boston make, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t VP of risk management at Liberty Mutual
Last edited by btownboss4; 05-23-2022 at 06:35 AM..
Haverhill isn't a failed city. Lowell/Worcester are't reall failed either. Malden is a successful city. Lawrence is kinda failed.. it's hard to imagine NB or Springfield doing better than Boston on many metrics- borderline failed if not failed
Haverhill isn't a failed city. Lowell/Worcester are't reall failed either. Malden is a successful city. Lawrence is kinda failed.. it's hard to imagine NB or Springfield doing better than Boston on many metrics- borderline failed if not failed
Even New Bedford is only at 17% Families poverty compared to 16% in Boston. So Boston is really not in a position to call other Mass cities failed cities.
And while Lawrence is poor it’s also not true it’s because it’s people priced out of Boston. It’s immigrants.
Boston has seen growth in raw numbers of low income households since 2010 and nothing GeoffD can say can change that fact.
Even New Bedford is only at 17% Families poverty compared to 16% in Boston. So Boston is really not in a position to call other Mass cities failed cities.
And while Lawrence is poor it’s also not true it’s because it’s people priced out of Boston. It’s immigrants.
Boston has seen growth in raw numbers of low income households since 2010 and nothing GeoffD can say can change that fact.
Boston also is susceptible to recession. Poverty rose in Boston from 19.5% in 2000 to 21.0% in 2010.
Boston has seen growth in raw numbers of low income households since 2010 and nothing GeoffD can say can change that fact.
The growth of high income households greatly outnumbered the growth of low income households. As gentrification swallows up the housing units, there’s nowhere to put the low income people within the city limits.
Philadelphia often gets dinged for poverty and has a very large student population, as well. Not as skewed as the numbers in Boston, but definitely worth mentioning in both cities.
I wish the Census had a much more nuanced measure of poverty. It's terribly outdated in its methodology.
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